Swiss-headquartered miner Ferrexpo, whose main interests are in Ukrainian iron ore assets, has announced its production results for the first quarter of 2026.
In the first quarter of this year, the company’s iron ore production moved down by 72.1 percent year on year and by 44.8 percent compared to the previous quarter to 592,751 mt. In particular, the company’s output of pellets totaled 524,926 mt, increasing by 27.1 percent quarter on quarter and down by 61.0 percent year on year.
Production activities were largely suspended in the first quarter due to nationwide attacks on Ukrainian electricity generation and transmission infrastructure. Production recommenced with only limited resumption of operations at reduced capacity levels in late February 2026 following improvements in the availability and price of electricity supply. The company continues to operate one of its four pellet lines and sell its products to European customers.
Commenting on the company’s performance, Lucio Genovese, interim executive chair, said, “The lower production numbers in the first quarter, at almost half of what we achieved in the final three months of 2025, reflect focused Russian attacks on Ukraine's power and energy infrastructure late last year and the resultant impact on our ability to operate sustainably. By January, given the supply of electricity could not be assured on a sustainable basis in the volumes required, we were forced to make the difficult decision to temporarily suspend operations and place a part of the workforce on furlough. Fortunately in late February we saw sufficient improvements in the availability and price of electricity to restart limited production at one pellet line. One pellet line remains in operation, and the Group continues to use its own fleet of rail wagons to export to customers in Eastern and Central Europe.”
